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Woke cities and states reverse course and crack down on illegal drugs. Here's why
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Leaders in many cities have recently concluded that it was a bad idea to decriminalize hard drugs.
Unless you get your news from NPR, you already knew that allowing people to buy fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine or heroin without consequences would end in pain and chaos for both drug users and their communities.
Woke cities and states throughout the country are now scrambling to reinstall policies to restore law and order by deterring drug use.
Scenes of drug use and homelessness in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia on June 29, 2023. (Fox News Digital )
State lawmakers in Oregon, for example, recently passed a new law that put back in place criminal punishments for the possession of hard drugs. Lawmakers found this necessary a mere three years after voters passed Measure 110, a ballot initiative that limited criminal punishments for possessing hard drugs to only small fines – no jail time.
OREGON GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL RECRIMINALIZING HARD DRUGS, COMPLETING LIBERAL EXPERIMENT’S U-TURN
At the time, activists sold voters a bill of goods claiming that Measure 110 would help those with addiction. Activists seized upon the anti-cop riots in 2020 to argue that decriminalizing drugs would also give cops fewer reasons to “harass” drug users. Major activists lined up to fund the effort.
This foolishness sounded too good to people who have common sense, and it was.
Overdose deaths in Oregon shot up 44% between 2022 and 2023 – the highest increase in the nation. Law enforcement officers reported that rampant drug use also contributed to a 16.6% surge in violent crimes such as homicide, rape, assault and robbery from 2019 to 2022.
Activists claimed Measure 110 would help Black residents in particular. Instead, overdose rates among Black Oregonians doubled between 2020 and 2022. Today, one in 10 deaths among Black Oregonians results from a drug overdose.
Measure 110 failed those it purported to help in a deadly way.
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Oregon is not an outlier. San Francisco is walking back bone-deep, down-to-the-marrow stupid drug policies, too.
For years, local leaders allowed the City by the Bay to descend into chaos by declining to arrest or prosecute individuals who used illegal drugs in public. Open-air drug use became commonplace.
Many families left the city to avoid trudging through dirty needles and piles of human feces on their way to work. One deli owner found his “first dead body” while checking on the addicts who camped near his shop.
Californians seem willing to put up with a lot before reconsidering dumb dogma, but even San Francisco has its limits. Mayor London Breed recently announced that “change is coming,” including more funding for law enforcement to arrest those using drugs in public.
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These drug policy reversals are becoming the rule, not the exception. Other cities and states throughout the country – including Washington, D.C., Washington state and Boston – have taken steps to enforce drug laws after years of lax policies brought their residents nothing but misery.
Addiction is horrible. But policymakers cannot allow their empathy for Americans with addiction to blind them to the dangerous reality of drugs like fentanyl, heroin and cocaine.
Drug overdoses killed an estimated 112,000 Americans in 2023 – more than twice as many deaths as car crashes. Yet no sane lawmaker would legalize reckless driving. Heartbreaking stories in Oregon and San Francisco prove that deterrence must be part of the policymaking equation.
As cities and states work to replace failed, dumb crime policies with laws that deter drug use and promote safe communities, Congress must step up, too. That’s why I introduced the Fairness in Fentanyl Sentencing Act.
Fentanyl is a particularly deadly narcotic that Louisiana law enforcement has tied to 65% of our overdose deaths. My bill would hold drug dealers accountable by decreasing the amount of fentanyl a dealer has to possess before he faces a mandatory minimum sentence.
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Today, drug traffickers can carry enough fentanyl to kill every person in Shreveport, Louisiana, and still not face even a 10-year mandatory minimum prison sentence. Dealers caught with smaller amounts of less lethal drugs – such as methamphetamine or crack cocaine – face much longer sentences than those caught pushing fentanyl.
Lowering fentanyl possession limits would make sure fentanyl traffickers face punishments that reflect the deadliness of the poison they are peddling.
I don’t understand why some people seem wedded to the dumb-on-crime sentiments that San Francisco and Oregon have abandoned. The Fairness in Fentanyl Sentencing Act wouldn’t affect people suffering from addiction. It would only punish dealers for the hell they’re unleashing on too many innocent families. Still, a few of my colleagues have blocked every effort I’ve made to get this bill signed into law.
Overdose deaths don’t make cities more livable. Open-air drug use doesn’t make communities safer or cleaner. Fair, clear penalties help stop people from hurting themselves and their neighbors.
I hope more woke cities and states admit this and correct their dangerous policies before more Americans fall victim to drugs and stupidity.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM SEN. JOHN KENNEDY
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LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Real roads come with real consequences. This summer, the Nevada Department of Public Safety and FOX5 want everyone to Arrive Alive, and that starts with smart choices behind the wheel. Safe driving habits are the best way to prevent crashes. With more teens and first-time drivers hitting the road, the Nevada Department of Public Safety is advising everyone to slow down, stay focused, and look out for each other.
- Stay distraction-free. Distraction plays a role in nearly 6 out of 10 crashes involving teens. The biggest distraction is often other teens in the car, followed by phones and in-car screens. Put the phone away, keep your eyes up, and save the playlist changes for later. Passengers can help too; keep the driver focused, not stressed.
- Don’t speed. Nearly 30% of fatal teen crashes involve speeding, and driving too fast cuts down your reaction time, increases stopping distance, and makes any crash more serious. Stick to the speed limit, slow down when roads or weather change, and leave plenty of space between you and the car ahead.
- Never drive impaired. Impaired driving is still a major problem in Nevada, making up 51% of traffic deaths from 2018 to 2022. If you’ve been drinking or using drugs, don’t drive. Call a trusted adult, use a designated driver, or take a rideshare.
- Buckle up! Every trip. Every seat. Seatbelts greatly reduce the risk of serious injury or death. Everyone in the vehicle, front seat and back, needs to wear one. Put it on every time. It takes seconds and can save your life.
We’re in the middle of the 100 deadliest days of summer please share the road, as even one traffic death is too many. Arrive Alive. That’s the plan. Learn more at ZeroFatalitiesNV.com
Copyright 2026 KVVU. All rights reserved.
SALEM, Ore. (KATU) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld state laws in Idaho and West Virginia that bar transgender girls and women from competing on girls’ and women’s school sports teams.
The decision could influence future policy debates in Oregon, but does not immediately change the state’s rules.
Oregon continues to allow students to participate in school sports, physical education, and other school activities in accordance with their gender identity.
The Oregon School Activities Association, which oversees high school sports statewide, said it is reviewing the ruling with legal counsel.
“The Oregon School Activities Association is reviewing today’s Supreme Court ruling with our legal counsel. The association will work with the Oregon Department of Education on the ruling’s impacts on state law and OSAA policy in order to provide updated guidance to member schools as needed. The OSAA remains committed to ensuring interscholastic activities remain a safe and welcoming environment for all student-athletes,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
While Tuesday’s ruling leaves Oregon’s current policy in place, political scientists say it could reshape the legal landscape surrounding future proposals.
“This particular decision, coupled with a federal push, may end up altering the landscape of opportunities in states that affirm trans athletic participation,” said Allison Gash, chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Oregon.
SEE ALSO | Supreme Court ruling preserves Oregon law protecting late-arriving mail ballots
Gash said the Supreme Court’s decision itself does not require Oregon to change its policies.
Instead, she said the more immediate question is how the Trump administration chooses to respond.
“Where we could see some required movement on the part of Oregon or where it may impact Oregon directly is how the federal government determines what it wants to do in light of today’s ruling,” said Gash.
According to Gash, the administration has argued that schools should separate sports teams based on biological sex under its interpretation of Title IX.
“One of the several efforts that the federal government is taking to ensure that all states bar trans female athletes in particular from participating in women’s sports is to tie the provision of federal funding to essentially a ban,” she said.
She added that the Supreme Court’s ruling could make the administration “more muscular in those efforts because now the court has essentially upheld that interpretation.”
Oregon leaders respond
House Republicans unsuccessfully pushed legislation during the 2025 legislative session that would have required school sports teams to be separated based on biological sex, but the bill failed in the Democratic-controlled House.
The bill was sponsored by then state representative Christine Drazan, the 2026 Republican candidate for Governor.
In a news release Tuesday, Drazan welcomed the ruling, calling it “a victory for fairness, for common sense, and for progress.”
“Girls and young women across Oregon are still competing on an unfair and unsafe playing field. I have always supported women’s right to compete, and as Governor, I will do everything in my power to make sure that women’s sports are protected and girls across our state get their shot to compete and win,” said Drazan.
KATU asked Governor Tina Kotek whether she supports legislative or executive action to maintain Oregon’s current policy following the ruling.
The governor’s office had not responded by publication.
Meanwhile, Oregon Senate Democrats said in a news release that the decision does not change students’ rights in Oregon, and they vowed to continue to protect the policy in effect today.
“Nobody wins when states deny children the right to play sports. Sports have the power to unify, but today’s SCOTUS decision will lead to dangerous gender harassment of athletic girls. States banning access to sports are feeding the same regime that is trying to divide and control,” said State Senator Courtney Neron-Misslin.
She continued, “Oregonians must keep our eye on the ball. We must stay focused on addressing actual problems, protecting rights, addressing affordability, and investing in education. Today’s decision erodes LGBTQ+ rights and the rights of women across our country. Here in Oregon, we will continue to stand up to injustices and defend our most vulnerable from Trump-style attacks.”
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